Emma Lazarus’ poem, The New Colossus, famous lines are engraved on a plaque at the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty located on Ellis Island in NYC, and they read:
“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”
Through the 1800 and 1900s the Statue of Liberty welcomed immigrants who arrived to the United States on ships, by way of New York City Harbor. These days immigrants arrive by any means possible, sometimes creating all kinds of mayhem on the way to their desired version of « freedom ».
There is no Lady Liberty heralding their efforts these days, and sometimes they are most unwelcome in the new land. The days when people genuinely looked up to the United States as the best place in the world to be, have slowly dwindled away; the reasons are many but still they come; in search of a better way of life than the one they are leaving behind.
A visit to Ellis Island, home to the famous lady, is impressive and enlightening and one that I absolutely recommend; learning its history gives you pause, makes you appreciate and understand the trials and tribulations that many immigrants endured when they decided to leave their country, and homes and families in the early days. In context, today, you can imagine the same things are happening driving people away from their homes to embark into the unknown.
Chica on the Move 